Internal-combustion engine.



E. S. BROWER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED FEB12, 1913.

1,126,950. Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

1 7.5 wi/bvwooao: avwsanlioz THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGION, Dv C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD S. BROWER, 0F RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Application filed February 12, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD S. Bnownn, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Ridgewood, in the countyof Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

It is well known that the ordinary puppet valve construction used ininternal combustion engines is undesirable on account of the complexityof structure involved and the amount of noise produced.

In a general way, it has long been known that rotary valves could beemployed in internal combustion engines for the admission and exhaust ofthe gases. On principle the rotary construction should be more advantageous than a reciprocating puppet valve or the like. Notwithstandingthis, rotary valves have not been employed to any great extent withpractical success in the art. This seems to be due to the fact that ithas heretofore been considered that the admission and exhaust of gasesinvolved the same problem. It has not been realized that two distinctproblems'are involved, and that a rotary valve which can be usedsuccessfully for the purpose of admitting gas to the cylinders can notnecessarily be used successfully for the exhaust of the burnt gases, andvice versa. This difference in the two problems arises chiefly inconnection with the difference in heat. The exhaust valve is subjectedto a greater degree of heat than .the admission valve and hence willhave a tendency to expand and bind, while the admission valve, not beingsubjected to so great a degree of heat, will have a tendency to leak.

Accordingly the object of the present invention is the production of aninternal combustion engine with rotary valves of a character best suitedto meet the separate problems of admitting fuel and exhausting the burntgases.

The invention consists in combining two difi'erent types of rotary valvemeans, one of which is hollow or which forms a longitudinal continuationof the fuel supplytube, and the other of which is provided with atransverse passage extending through from side to side.

By means of the so-called through and through valve, communication ishad with the cylinder twice to each revolution of the Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

Serial No. 747,863.

valve member, and hence the latter can be rotated at one half the speedof the admisslon valve member. This obviously lessens the amount of heatgenerated by the friction of the parts. Moreover, in the through andthrough construction the hot gases will not remain for any great lengthoftime in the valve body, such as would be the case with a constructionemploying a hollow valve member. In this way overheating of the valvemember is avoided. F urthermore, by this construction, the exhaust gasesfrom one cylinder will not have a tendency to enter another cylinderwhen exhaust communication is established with that cylinder.

The above sets forth some of the reasons why the through and throughconstruction is the more preferable for the exhaust valve means. Theadmission valve means, on the other hand, presents different problemswhich must be solved in a different way. It is desirable that fuel bealways ready to enter the cylinder the moment valve c0mmunication isestablished, and for this reason hollow valve means constantly incommunication with the fuel supply are more efficient. This for thereason that when communication is established the fuel will have lessdistance to travel to enter the cylinder than it would have if thethrough and through valve were employed, since the fuel in the lattercase would'have to pass from one side of the valve to the other.Likewise, in a multi-cylinder construction, if the through and throughvalve means were employed for the admission of fuel, it would beextremely difficult to feed fuel equally to all the cylinders, since onecylinder would have a tendency to rob the others. But by employing thehollow valve admis sion means the fuel can be distributed more evenly,especially by having the hollow present instance of a four cycleinternal tion is illustrated in several concrete and preferred forms,but changes in construction may be made without departing from theinvention.

In the said drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional viewthrough part of a four cylinder four cycle internal combustion engine,including the admission valve means, on the line 11 of Fig. 3, embodyingthe invention. Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22of Fig. 3,through the exhaust Valve means. Fig. 3 is a vertical transversesectional view through one of the cylinders, and the admission andexhaust valve means. Fig. 4 is a general end view of the engine showingmore particularly, in a diagrammatic way, the driving means for thevalve means. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modification.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral views.

1, 2, 3 and 4: indicate four cylinders, in the combustion engine, saidcylinders being provided with admission ports 5 in the heads thereof.Extending over the top of the four cylinders is the admission valvemeans, here taking the form of a stationary tube 6 having ports 7registering with the ports 5 of the cylinders, and a rotatable tube ormember 8' mounted for rotation within the tube 6 and provided with ports9 in line with the ports 5 and 7, but displaced circumferentially withrespect to each other in harmony with the timing of the engine in amanner well understood. Preferably the member 8 is provided withlongitudinal partitions 10 dividing the said tube 8 into fourlongitudinal chambers 11 terminating by means of end walls 12 at a pointjust beyond the ports 9, leaving dead spaces as 18, in all of saidchambers except one. At one end the member 8 is connected to a suitablesource of fuel supply indicated by 14:. By this means fuel always fillsthe member 8, and since this member is divided into four longitudinalchambers there will be no tendency for one cylinder to rob anothercylinder of fuel.

The exhaust valve means are preferably constructed as follows: 15 is avalve seat arranged at the sides of the cylinders and near the topthereof, there being ports as 16 communicating with the interior of thecylinders, on one side of said valve seat, and an exhaust manifold 17 onthe other side of said valve seat. Mounted in said valve seat is arotatable valve member 18 having through and through transverse passages19 located in line with the ports 16 and displaced circumferentiallywith respect to each other in harmony with the timing of the engine.Since the member 18 will establish communication between the cylinderand exhaus't manifold, twice to each revolution,

one to two relation with respect to the crank-' shaft 23 by means ofgear 24: on crank-shaft, gear 25 on member 8 and chain 26. In order toprevent overlapping the passages .19 should be of a circumferentialwidth equal to substantially one-sixteenth of the circumference of themember 18 and spaced apart circumferentially a distance equal tosubstantially one-sixteenth of the circumfen ence of the member 18. 1

In Fig. 5 a slightly modified form of admission valve means is shown.Here there is an inner stationary tube 27 communicating at both endswith the manifold 28,'and provided with ports 29 registering with theports 5 of the cylinder. Surrounding'the" tube 27 is a rotatable member30 with ports 31 in line'with the por'ts'29and 5. but dis placedcircumferentially in a well-known manner.

23 as in the form shown in the other views,

and with a gear 25 from which the exhaust valve is driven as in theother views.

What 1s clalmed, 1s: 1. An internal combustlon engme, comprising acylinder, hollow admission valve means having a rotary admission member.adapted to communicate with the cylinder;

once to each revolution of said member, ex-

haust valve means having a rotary exhaust member provlded with atransverse passage extending from side to side of sald member adapted tocommunicate with thecylinder twice to each revolution of said member,and means for rotating the exhaust member at half the speed of theadmission member.

2. A four cycle internal combustion en gine comprising: a cylinder,hollow'admission valve means having a rotary admission member adapted tocommunicate with'the cylinder once to each revolution of said member, anexhaust valve means having a" rotary exhaust member provided with atransverse passage extending from side to side of said member adapted tocommunicate with the cylinder twice to each revolution of said member, acrank shaftfor the engine, means for driving said rotary admission valvemember at half the speed of the crank shaft, and' means' for rotatingthe ex haust member at half the speed of tl iefadmunicate once with eachcylinder to each revolutlon of said member, exhaustval've On one end ofthe member 30'isa gear 20 which is driven from the crankshaft meanshaving a rotary member provided with a transverse passage extending fromside to side of said member adjacent to each cylinder and communicatingtwice with each cylinder to each revolution of said exhaust member,means for rotating the admission valve means at one-half the speed ofthe crank shaft, and means for rotating the exhaust member at one-halfthe speed of the admission member.

4:. An internal combustion engine comprising: a plurality of cylinders,a hollow admission valve means having a rotary admission member providedwith separate longitudinal chambers each adapted to communicatewith itscylinder once to each revolution of said admission member, a rotaryexhaust valve member continuous to all the cylinders and provided withseparate exhaust passages one for each cylinder and adapted tocommunicate with said cylinder twice to each revolution of said exhaustmember, and driving means for rotating the exhaust member at one-halfthe speed of the admission member.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New Yorkthis 12th day of February A. D. 1913.

EDWARD S. BROWER.

Witnesses:

AxEL V. BEEKEN, LAURA E. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

